Digital Dealer - June 2018 - 16

By Kevin Frye
eCommerce Director,
Jeff Wyler Automotive
Family

// Ownership

Subscribe
& Drive
As the first automotive
group to launch auto
subscription in our market,
Wyler FastLane, I have
been closely following the
press and feedback on
this exciting new area.
I would share that I
have seen nothing in my
career that has created
more excitement amongst
consumers than auto
subscription. The traditional model of car ownership
has remained the same
for decades. One vehicle financed or leased
for a long term, offering
little to no flexibility, and
aside from the new car
excitement that rapidly
fades after purchase, our
customers move forward
with cleaning and maintaining their vehicle until
they return to the purchasing cycle.
The traditional retail
model has been in a state
of disruption for the last
few years, and automotive
is currently at the top of
that list. Our modern-day
customers are looking for
higher levels of convenience, personalization,
and flexibility when they
make their purchase
decisions. If this was not
true, why do the most
successful companies
we see today share one
16

JUNE 2018

common trait? Companies
like Disney, Zappos, Amazon, and Apple all excel
at being consumer-facing.
What can we learn as an
industry from this?
Why can't we provide
a flexible mobility solution
that best meets many of
our modern customers'
needs? We have seen
groundbreaking outside
solutions disrupt the
transportation arena with
ride-sharing programs
that meet these types of
needs. Auto subscription
is a revolutionary model
that provides a flexible
mobility solution for one
monthly payment which includes access to an entire
garage of vehicles, and
also includes insurance,
maintenance, and taxes
with most programs.
How have consumers responded to auto
subscription? Simply put,
drivers can now have the
perfect car for any occasion, and even better, they
don't have to manage the
typical worries of car ownership, to include maintaining the vehicle, having
the right vehicle for each
event, and what to do if
they break down. Simply
put, the number one piece
of input we have received
with Wyler FastLane is "it

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

makes driving FUN again."
It has been disappointing to see that most of
the resistance to auto
subscription is not from
consumers, but from the
auto industry itself. Many
dealers see it as a threat,
while others consider it as
a fad. Meanwhile, another
new startup, Fair (with up
to one billion in debt and
equity funding raised by
Scott Painter) is entering
our market to provide
flexible mobility solutions.
If our industry is serious
about addressing disruption to the traditional auto
retail model, shouldn't we
be more open-minded to
models like auto subscription?
I would agree that there
should be concern from
dealers about OEMs looking to work directly with
our customers. Many of
these OEMs have already
indicated that they are
looking to test and prove
the business model first,
and if it works to then partner with their franchised
dealers. For those that
have not communicated
this, we are closely watching their intentions.
It is important to emphasize that for the very
few dealers testing auto
subscription, each of us

is trying to test and prove
whether this is a sustainable business model.
The Jeff Wyler Automotive Family is one of the
nation's top 50 dealership
groups and has a progressive culture where we are
willing to test these types of
ideas. Certainly the amount
of people looking to pursue
this type of car ownership
model is small at this time,
however, the message
that we can send as an
industry by offering more
consumer-facing solutions
is invaluable.
My challenge, my warning, is we must move forward with an open-minded,
progressive mindset as we
test not only auto subscription but other ownership
models that not only create
a better experience for
customers but also ensure
we're not left behind as
disruptors look to enter and
break apart what we have
done successfully for over
100 years.
KEVIN FRYE, of the Jeff Wyler
Automotive Family (one of
the top 50 dealership groups
in the U.S.), was named as
one of the top 5 influencers
changing the auto industry
today by Automotive News.
Before joining Jeff Wyler, Kevin
was an independent business
owner who pioneered selling
cars online, selling 500+ cars
on eBay in one year alone.
He was a Naval Aviator, with
extensive flight hours in Desert
Shield and Operation Southern
Watch, as well as 200+ combat
hours in Desert Storm. He has
used the leadership skills he
learned in the Navy to keep the
Jeff Wyler Automotive Family
at the front edge of automotive
eCommerce.
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - June 2018
